This Week for Faculty: 🏖️ The CTL is here to support you all summer!

Take time to design this summer!

The CTL can help you design or redesign a course and give you feedback on what you design including syllabi, assignments, activities, and course materials.

Join us for an in-person course design workshop, enroll in a self-paced course, watch videos, and/or consult with us.

Participate in a course design workshop

Plan Your Course in a Day: A Practical Design Workshop for Faculty
June 3, 2025, 10am – 4pm, 212 Butler Library 

Jump-start your course planning with a day of focused work, collaborative exchange, and CTL-guided support. This hands-on workshop is your opportunity to make meaningful progress on designing or redesigning a course with a clear plan in hand before summer gets away from you.

Through guided activities, you will articulate clear and measurable learning objectives, align assessments and assignments with those objectives, and plan engaging class activities that foster deep learning and student motivation. You will leave with a practical framework, draft materials, and tools you need to move forward.

Whether you’re designing a new course or refreshing an existing one, join fellow Columbia faculty for a productive and energizing day. All instructors teaching in a Columbia context are welcome. Lunch will be provided.

Receive guided support at your own pace

Enroll in the CTL’s self-paced Course Design Essentials course. This course guides participants through the fundamentals of learner-centered course design and a series of activities and downloadable worksheets. The course includes five modules: 1) course design: getting started, 2) articulating learning objectives, 3) planning for teaching and learning activities, and 5) putting it all together. Upon completing the asynchronous experience, participants should have a plan and the resources needed to continue the design process.

Watch the Course Design Essentials video playlist

This playlist of four narrated videos offers an overview of the backward design process: 1) course design: getting started, 2) articulating learning objectives, 3) assessing student learning, and 4) planning teaching and learning activities.

Consult with the CTL

Schedule a consultation to discuss course design. CTL staff can assist you as you draft your learning objectives, assessments, teaching and learning activities, and syllabi. To schedule a consultation, please contact CTLfaculty@columbia.edu.

Participate in the Summer Institute for CUIMC Faculty

CUIMC Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning

July 16 – 17, 2025, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM, Butler Library (Morningside campus)

Applications are now open for the 2025 CUIMC Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning, a two-day, in-person institute devoted to exploring effective teaching and learning strategies in health sciences education for online and in-person teaching. The institute is open to all CUIMC faculty.

The program will consist of asynchronous preparatory work and a mixture of large and small in-person group sessions. This Institute is facilitated by members of CUIMC’s teaching community and is sponsored by: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning; Mailman School of Public Health Teaching Academy; the Office of Academic Affairs at the College of Physicians and Surgeons; and the Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators.

Apply by Monday, May 26.

Explore, connect, and expand your pedagogical practice

Are you looking for space to explore new teaching methods and build community with faculty colleagues around teaching? Join a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) in Fall 2025!

Each FLC consists of a small group of faculty who meet regularly throughout the semester to support and inspire one another, share ideas, reflect on practice, explore research-based strategies for effective teaching, and provide each other feedback on shared challenges.

When signing up for an FLC, you can indicate which topic you want your FLC to focus on:

• Collaborative learning: Meet with colleagues to discuss how we can best design opportunities for students to collaboratively work together to deepen their understanding and critical thinking.

• Inclusive pedagogy: Meet with colleagues to discuss how we can best design learning experiences that equitably and inclusively promote belonging and active participation for all our students.

• Mentoring: Meet with colleagues to explore strategies for building impactful mentoring relationships with graduate students and postdocs.

• Teaching with AI: Meet with colleagues to navigate the opportunities and challenges of integrating artificial intelligence into your teaching.

• Peer observation of teaching: Visit your colleagues’ classes and invite them to visit your class to reflect on your teaching and share inspiration, feedback, and support.

Reasons to join:

• break the isolation in which most teaching usually happens;

• provide new ideas about teaching and learning;

• create a supportive environment in which you can investigate, question, explore, and apply new classroom techniques;

• develop a community among faculty members who can inspire and support one another;

• discuss scholarship on teaching and learning; and

• challenge yourself to grow as a teacher and life-long learner.

Time commitment: communities will meet approximately 4-6 times over the course of the semester.

All faculty are welcome. Space is limited. Complete the interest form by May 26, 2025 and the CTL will reach out to you.

For questions, contact CTLfaculty@columbia.edu.

The CTL is here to support you all summer!

Connect via Zoom or over the phone 

Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your teaching with instructional technology questions answered, or schedule an appointment any time by contacting ColumbiaCTL@columbia.edu.

Schedule a consultations

Schedule an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss any teaching and learning need by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.